Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has said that DEWA realises the importance of developing future smart cities that make use of world-class infrastructure, to provide efficient and transparent government services around the clock, exceeding the expectations of the UAE’s citizens and residents, and improving their quality of life.

He was speaking at the opening of Schneider Electric’s 4th ‘Power to the Cloud’ Conference and Exhibition at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Dr. Rashid Al Leem, Chairman of Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA), Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government, Majdi Abed, the French Consul General in Dubai, Frederic Abbal, Executive Vice President of Energy business at Schneider Electric, Benoit Dubarle, Regional President of GCC at Schneider Electric and over 200 VIPs, CEOs, and decision-makers took part in the opening ceremony.

Al Tayer toured the exhibition and reviewed the projects by multinational companies in energy management, water treatment, smart cities, and building management systems and automation.

The conference featured discussions by leading international officials from Schneider Electric, several panel discussions, presentations on topics such energy management, efficiency of building development, and technological development in the region.

Al Tayer said, "Dubai is a pioneer in many different aspects, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched the Smart Dubai Initiative to transform Dubai into the happiest and smartest place on Earth, where people are happy, their lives are made easier, and the standard of living is further improved with the efficient use of resources and seamless and integrated services.

''We launched three smart initiatives to support the Smart Dubai initiative. The first one (Shams Dubai), connects solar power in houses and buildings and encourages households and building owners to install solar panels to produce electricity. These will be connected to the grid. This encourages the use of renewable energy and increases its share in the energy mix.

"The second initiative focuses on using smart applications to promote smart consumption using smart meters, while the third one, Green Charger, is related to establishing the infrastructure and charging stations for electric vehicles," said Al Tayer.

"These three smart initiatives support the UAE Vision 2021, Dubai Plan 2021 and the long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development national initiative," he added.

"To reduce reliance on natural gas, while improving security of supply and diversifying the energy mix, Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 has specified that by 2030 there will be an environmentally-friendly energy mix with 25 per cent from solar energy, nuclear power providing 7%, clean coal 7 per cent, and gas 61 per cent. The mix will gradually increase the employment of clean energy sources to 75 per cent by 2050. Solar Power is the most significant and strategic renewable resource in the UAE and the region.

"DEWA has embarked in stages on building the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. Upon completion, this will be the largest single-site solar park in the world, making Dubai one of the leaders in renewable energy. On the demand side management, we set a target to reduce our energy consumption by 30 percent by 2030," according to Al Tayer.
Source:WAM